Faculty of Communication

The Faculty of Communication aims to educate undergraduate students in social sciences and post-graduate students in communication sciences with knowledge and competences in journalism and public relations. The faculty also focuses on producing undergraduate and post-graduate level specialists in sociology, social anthropology, photography and multimedia communication.

Communication interweaves all areas and processes; it defines achievements and failures even in cases when we are not completely aware of it. Qualitative communication may induce positive changes and promote social development. Constant tracking of development in communication sciences will place you among fundamental processes, making research and studies in this area more attractive than anything else. I am proud of being part of the only communication studies faculty in Latvia where we develop communication and media studies and offer top quality education in psychology and sociology.

The academic staff and the guest lecturers at the Faculty of Communication are renowned and inspirational academics at the forefront of their field.

The faculty hosts and takes active involvement in the life of the student medium “Skaļāk!” (eng. - Louder) which is an excellent opportunity for the students to gain practical experience in media work – to think, plan, create content on TV, radio and internet platforms, provide media coverage of diverse events and write articles and headlines. Once a year the university also releases the annual review "Inquisitio" which is the only students’ investigative journalism publication in Latvia dedicated to encouraging the students to address bold and at times dangerous topics and undergo in-depth and best-practice based professional study, disclosure and publication of topical issues.

Alongside with the professional disciplines, the undergraduate communications study programmes emphasize the importance of language proficiency and in addition to English, the students have the opportunity to improve their overall competence in German, French and Spanish. Unlike similar study programmes offered by other universities in Latvia, the studies at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) are organized in the form of module-based learning, that is a flexible study concept that allows the students to better manage their time resources, prioritize, combine academic and professional activity, pass exams successfully and for the study organizers – to attract interesting guest lecturers from all over the globe. The students of the faculty actively use the opportunity to study abroad as part of their degree within the ERASMUS+ mobility programme and participate in other international projects.

Studies

Journalism and Public Relations

Unlike other media study programmes offered in Latvia, Journalism and Public Relations studies in RSU have a contemporary focus on mass communication and media. The multiform study courses deal with a wide range of topics: introduction to journalism, reporting, journalism genres, editorship, investigative journalism, TV and radio journalism and content production. The study programme incorporates placement at the editorial offices of two media of different type. Much attention for developing study contents has been devoted to the contemporary forms of communication - information society, web society, blogging. Each year the students are also given the opportunity to participate in the work of some mass media.

Sociology

Sociology studies the interaction of individuals with groups and social behavior. The study programme Sociology of Organisations and Management offered by the Faculty of Communication is the only study programme of such kind in Latvia.

Social Anthropology

The inspirational and passionate academic staff of the Master’s study programme in Social Anthropology and the commitment to high quality academic experience provide for an excellent grounding for a degree to be placed on the same level as that awarded by recognized foreign universities. The study programme is taught by renowned academics who have defended their research thesis at such globally ranked universities as e.g. the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, the University of Bristol, the New School for Social Research, the University of California, Berkeley. Among our academic staff are recognised experts of their respective disciplines as: Roberts Ķīlis, Viesturs Celmiņš, Agita Lūse, Klāvs Sedlenieks and others. The Social Anthropology study programme offered by RSU is the only state accredited post-graduate social anthropology study programme in Latvia.